Act 1 Summary

This entire play is set inside a dingy street corner restaurant near a bus stop in a small Kansas town. The timeframe is the 1950s. It is 1 a.m. in March. The cast of characters are Elma Duckworth – a waitress, Grace Hoylard – owner of the restaurant, Will Masters – the town Sheriff, Cherie – a chanteuse, Dr. Gerald Lyman – a former college professor, Carl – a bus driver, Virgil Blessing – a ranch hand, Bo Decker – a young rancher and cowboy.

Due to the blizzard, the café workers, Grace and Elma, are predicting that the café will probably have to stay open late to accommodate the passengers of the bus that will be arriving soon. Will comes in soon after to confirm their prediction and tells them that the telephone lines are down and that the highways are blocked all the way to Topeka.

Grace is in...